Warren Buffett's First Tweet, And More To Come

Warren Buffett, the jocular Midwestern billionaire best known for his appearances in business magazines and on CNBC, has joined Twitter.

Yes, that's right, the online bastion of starlets and rappers and millions of ordinary teenagers is now an outlet for probably the most anti-technology curmudgeon of modern times. His first tweet? "Warren is in the house."

If you don't know Twitter, it's microblogging, a service that allows you to release thoughts freely to the world so long as they are short and to the point.

Which is, when you think about it, a pretty good fit for Buffett. He's known for his short, meaningful quotes on how markets work. He's also a fan of passive investing, once saying that most people should buy and hold index funds and not try to recreate his success as an investor and businessman.

Here are some oldies but goodies from the master, along with a bit of decoding for the novice investor:

1. Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. Classic Buffett. He's talking about the compounding effect of money. The math can get heavy but the simple fact is that money well-invested doubles every seven to 10 years or so. Then that money doubles again.

Think about it: $100,000 in an IRA at a reasonable rate of return turns into $200,000 in about a decade. Then that $200,000 turns into $400,000 and the $400,000 into $800,000. All without adding a cent of new money. It's how Buffett got so rich. So, go plant a tree today by putting money into your IRA or 401(k).